
LOUISIANA 

A Pageant of Yesterday and 
To-Day 

MAUD MAY PARKER 




Class _J:^lZ_o_ 

Eook__^_Li_i_i_ 
Gopight]^?_ 



LOUISIANA 

A Pageant of Yesterday 
and Today 



MAUD MAY PARKER 



New Orleans 
Hauser Printing Co. 



Fsro 



Copyright 1917 

by 

Maud May Parker 



DEC 14 !9l-7 
©CI.D 48536 

\ 



IX) 



of our Louisiana #ol^^ers an^ jailors 

"STlyis little book is affctttanatchj 

anb tcnbcrb bcbkatfb 



PROLOGUE. 

(A trumpet is heard. Curtains are slightly drawn. — 
Enter Herald.) 

Herald : 

Good greetings, friends ! Glad greetings, one and all ! 

Haste Ye ! Make ready for our noble queen, 

The Fair Louisiana, she who reigns 

O'er more than half the mighty new-found world. 

How tender is her sway, and yet how strong. 

To hold within her hands, like children's toys, 

The splendid regions of the northern lakes, 

The mystic, dreamy, soulful south-land far. 

See, how she comes with Springtime in her tread, 

Upspringing 'neath her feet the clover sweet, 

Upon her head the starry jessamine — 

Plucked from the whiteness of the Milky Way. 

Magnolias are her cheeks, and her rich lips 

The ripened seed of all Magnolia blooms ; 

Wood-brown her eyes with depths as calm and clear 

As gentle bayous overhung by trees. 

France wears her as a jewel in her crown, 

Brave, noble France ! And yet in years to come 

France must resign this gem, must yield this gift 

To that strong mother of a younger race, 

America, born of the giant might 

Of all the mingled forces of the world. 

Yet let us not o'er-vision you with dreams. 

Louisiana comes ; greet her with joy ! 



ACT I. 
KATLAHA'S MARRIAGE FEAST. 



Characters. 
Louisiana 

Kwahonoshe Chief of the Colapissas 

Okesok Chief of the Choctaws 

Shamgolo Son of Okesok 

Katlaha Daughter of Kwahonoshe 

(Indians, squaws, and children) 



8 



Scene. 

(A Southern forest: live oaks, magnolias, and long- 
leaf pines. On either side are palmettoes and yuccas in 
full bloom. In the distance are maize and tall pampas 
grasses, and through the vista is seen the wide expanse of 
the Mississippi River, on ivhose hanks, drawn up in num- 
ber, are Indian canoes. 

In the foreground is a throne-chair, on which Louisi- 
ana is seated. 

On the ground, in a wide semicircle, Indian chiefs sit 
in council, and standing in the centre of the ring is 
Kivahonoshe. ) 

Louisiana : 
Hail Kwahonoshe! What say now the chiefs? 
For three nights thus you sit and hold debate. 

Kwahonoshe : 
Louisiana, we have watched the signs. 
Two nights agone the moon rose fiery red, 
And shooting stars trailed through the breathless night. 
The owlet hooted, and the sleeping cocks 
Began to crow, mistaken in the dawn. 
Then, old Pahoha let his arrows fly 
In sign and signal of pernicious war. 
But, as we stood with all our bows new-strung. 
Out of the rainless sky there came a sound, 
Heloha's laying of her thunder-eggs. 
And Malatha, her spouse, with lightnings rent 
The great trees. — So, in truth, we knew full well 
They frowned upon our enterprise. 

9 



Louisiana : 

Right glad 

Am I. I love not wars! What then did ye? 

Kwahonoshe : 
We sent the pact of peace ; our arrows hung 
With fledgling doves. And from the Choctaw chief 
His squaw is come, to ask in seal thereof 
Katlaha's hand for Shamgolo. 

Louisiana : 

And gives 

Your squaw consent? 

Kwahonoshe : 

A squaw thinks as her chief. 

{Sounds of approval from the chiefs, who rise. Enter 
old squaw with Katlaha, other squaws, and maidens.) 

Louisiana : 
Katlaha, come my child, did'st know that ere 
The moon shines white upon yon yucca blooms, 
Shamgolo comes to claim you as his bride? 

Katlaha : 
Entreat me not, Kwahonoshe, I 
Know not this youth. No Colapissa yet 
Has wed when love came not to light the fires 
Within the wigwam, nor to weave the mats 
The bride walks over to her marriage couch. 

10 



Kwahonoshe : 
Who speaks of love? You stand and idly prate 
As any forest maid that saunters forth 
Beneath the stars to seek adventure. What 
Know you of love? 

Katlaha : 
Once long ago, before 
The Colapissas moved from Talcatcha, 
I saw a stranger on our shores. He stood 
With arms outstretched to greet the golden sun, 
And when he saw me, smiled and asked if I 
Were dawn just stept from out the rosy East. 

Kwahonoshe : 
How now? And so for this strange unknown youth 
You dream and prate of love, and now defy me? 

Katlaha : 
My father, force me not ! Would not this chief 
Content him with another maid? There be, 

Kwahonoshe, some more fair to meet 
His fierce desire. Louisiana, speak ! 

1 do entreat you speak in my behalf. 

Louisiana : 

Katlaha, you must give consent. The tribes 

Be then at peace. Young Shamgolo is tall 

And strong, your ogla needs his strength of arm ; 

11 



Pahoha is grown old, and even he, 
Brave Kwahonoshe, soon must lay him down 
Beneath those mounds your fathers builded them 
Beyond the stream. This stranger youth who stole 
Your heart, you know not of. Who then will draw 
The bow in your defense? 

Katlaha : 

Enough! I yield, 
Shamgolo asks my hand — that shall he have ! 
My heart belongs to me to reckon with. 

(Noise is heard without. Shamgolo arrives with his 
companions, who carry rough torches of fire to light the 
marriage feast. They approach. Katlaha, as is the cus- 
tom of Indian maidens, retreats. Shamgolo tries to catch 
her. She evades him and finally is caught in his strong 
arms. Katlaha raises her eyes slowly, — then, as if over- 
coming her dislike, looks defiantly into the eyes of the 
bridegroom. ) 

Katlaha : 
(with surprise and great joy) 

You! You! My stranger! What mad dream is this? 

Shamgolo : 

My sweet Katlaha, this be no mad dream. 

Through burning days and sleepless nights I've fought 

The arrows of the Colapissas. Then 

Bold Okesok, my father, swore that I 

Should wed you even though the streams ran blood. 

12 



Katlaha : 
Then you did love and seek me, Shamgolo? 

Shamgolo : 

As one whose wandering spirit seeks its mate. 
The grounds of Aba with their singing birds 
And luscious fruit could hold me not, if you 
Had stood without. 

Katlaha : 

But why, when once you knew 
The wigwam of my father, spoke you not? 

Shamgolo : 

Our tribes were then at enmity. Besides 
I chose to win you as a chieftain should. 
My wife should not be bought as other maids, 
Katlaha, while my bow could bend for her. 
Sooner would I have sought to stain the sun 
Than lay my bear skins at your father's tent. 

(While they are speaking, preparations are being 
made for the marriage feast. A rough log is chosen over 
which skins are thrown. Two seats in the centre for the 
bride and groom are covered with white bear. The end 
ones for the chiefs of each ogla are of otter and deer. 
Kwahonoshe and Okesok take their seats, and while soft 
music is played, Shamgolo leads Katlaha. ) 

13 



Shamgolo : 
Beloved come ! Our marriage seats are spread, 
Old Kwahonoshe and Okesok wait ! 
They make agreement, but we give consent ; 
They bind the fate of tribes, but love binds us. 

(He leads her gently, and they take their seats. Sud- 
denly the music changes. It becomes rough and barbaric. 
The other Indians, men, women, and children, gather to- 
gether. They lock arms and move sidewise, first in one 
direction and then in the other. A leader stands apart 
keeping time with two sticks, and with grunts and sounds 
and noise of tomtoms they follow the music. Finally one 
assumes leadership. They fall into a long line as each 
grasps the shoulders of the one in front. They are led 
through a series of serpentine movements, coiling closer 
and closer, until they resemble a huge snake. A Herald's 
bugle is heard. The music abruptly stops. The Indians, in 
startled amazement, rush for their bows and arrows, then, 
as if powerless, stand still with spanned bows. Curtain 
drawn for a moment only. ) 



14 



ACT II. 
ARRIVAL OF LA SALLE. 



15 



Characters. 

Robert Cavelier de La Salle Canadian Adventurer 

Zenobre Membre A Recollect Missionary- 
Jacques de la Metairie Notary 

Francois de Boisrondet 

Nika La Salle's Hunter 

Sarget La Salle's Servant 

Kwahonoshe 
Okesok 
Shamgolo 
Katlaha 

French gentlemen, priests, Indian guides, squaws 
and children. Indians present in the last scene. 



16 



Scene 
{Same as close of last.) 

Enter Herald. 

Herald : 
All hail, Louisiana! 

Louisiana : 

Herald, hail ! 

Kwahonoshe : 
What means your bugle? 

Herald : 

Kwahonoshe, hear, 
And all you chiefs assembled. On your shores 
Are bark canoes in number. Their great prows 
Bear images of strange design. And men. 
With faces whiter than the moon, arrive 
With cross-bows, swords, and flags they hold aloft. 

Okesok : 
Be these men Gods? Louisiana, read 
The portent of their coming. Means it war? 

Louisiana : 

It means. Great Chief, that on this splendid land 
Your sun is set, and shining in the East 
A golden sun awakes a new-born day. 
Already crumbled are your Temple mounds. 
Already darkened are your Temple fires. 

17 



The walled towns your fathers builded them 
Already are forgot ; and burned out now 
Your wigwam fires. For Nations, like the day, 
Have their bright morn, their noon, their setting sun. 

Okesok : 
Our sun shall set not while we wield our bows ! 
The land is ours, our fathers gave it us. 

{Enter La Salle accompanied by Zenobe Membre, 
FruMcois de Boisrondet Jacques de la Metairie, Nika, Sar- 
get, also other French gentlemen. With them are guides, 
squaws, and children; La Salle precedes them with sword 
in hand, Pere Zenobe and the other priests carry rough 
crucifixes, Francois de Boisrondet a column on which are 
painted the Arms of France. The others carry lances, 
swords, and flags; the Indians, bows and arroivs.) 

Louisiana : 
All hail, Robert Cavelier de La Salle ! 
And you, mon Pere Zenobe Membre, and you, 
Messieurs, my welcome, one and all ! 

La Salle : 

All hail, 
Louisiana ! In the name of France 

We come with purpose strong, backed by our swords. 

To take possession for our noble king, 

Louis le Grand, of France and of Navarre, 

This mighty river that seeks outlet here, 

And all the land that stretches on its shores, 

From that wide region of the Algonquins far 

To this of Colapissas by the Gulf. 

18 



Kwahonoshe : 
That shall you not, you white-faced god ! Our bows 
And arrows and our tomahawks shall speak 
Far louder than the names of kings unknown. 

Pere Zenobe : 
My children, listen ! Span you not your bows. 
The king of France shall reign, and over all 
The Bon Dieu stretches out his hands. Kneel down 
Before the cross. Believe ! Give him your souls, 
And your allegiance give to France's king. 

(He shows them the crucifix, and they turn away as 
if terrified. Shamgolo holds Katlaha trembling in his 
arms. ) 

Shamgolo : 

Awake, beloved, from this strange alarm. 

This is our marriage morn. What cause for fear? 

What are these strangers, what their king, their cross? 

Katlaha : 
Shamgolo, clasp me close. I tremble still. 
I hate their faces and their cold, dead god. 

Shamgolo : 
Think not on death, Katlaha, but on life. 
Let us steal forth, beloved, through the dawn. 
This is our day of love, and comes the night, 
With throbbing hearts we'll dream beneath the stars. 

(As they go out, Nika shows beads and trinkets to 
the Indians. ) 

19 



Nika: 
Be you not fools ! These men, who claim your land, 
Buy it with beads and gems. Our squaws have chains 
Of precious worth. 

Sarget 
{overhearing conversation) 

Take you this one of jade 

For that sweet bride, as marriage gift. And this 

Great robe to place before her wigwam fire. 

{Kwahonoshe is pleased, and the other Indians crowd 
around, receiving gifts and examining the newly arrived 
strangers, their costumes, swords, flags, etc.) 

Kwahonoshe : 
These men be gods. We read not right the signs. 
The fiery moon betokened their approach. 

{To La Salle) 
Is it in truth, you buy our lands and give 
Us leave to stay? Perchance your noble chief 
Would trade our furs and give us implements 
To till the tields. Our Indian wheat grows tall. 
And on a summer's day the tasseled corn 
Waves, like the flags you carry, in the wind. 

Francois de Boisrondet : 
In truth it is a land fit for our king. 
And in his name we now possess ourselves. 

20 



{He hands the column to La Salle who places it in 
the ground the others have been 'preparing. Pere Zenobe 
plants the crucifix near by and at its foot a plate bearing 
the Arms of France. While this is being done the Te Deum 
is played softly. ) 

La Salle : 

Louisiana, be our witness now 
This land is ours and all contained therein. 
By planting here this column we affirm 
No white man's foot has ever trod this soil, 
And by the holy cross we pledge ourselves 
To bring the light of God to this new race. 

Louisiana : 
Right well you've spoken, Robert de La Salle ! 
We bear you witness. And now, gentlemen. 
Your own insignia. Where be le notaire? 
Monsieur La Metairie, stand forth ! And you 
Messieurs, sign each and all his parchment. Let 
The great chiefs also set their seals thereto. 

( While they are signing, the Te Deum becomes louder. 
Then is played the Domine, Salvum fac Regem.) 

La Salle : 
And now, Messieurs with one accord we shout 
Vive ! Vive ! Le Roi de France et de Navarre ! 
Louis le Grand, Louis quatorze de France. 

(Curtain.) 
21 



ACT III. 

THE SIEUR de BIENVILLE 

and 
LA NOUVELLE ORLEANS. 



23 



Prelude. 
THE DREAM OF CRESCENT MOON. 



25 



Scene 1. 

Forest as before. Music. Louisiana still seated in 
throne-chair. In immediate foreground on a bed of 
Spanish moss are discovered Crescent Moon and Falaya, 
her Indian playmate. It is just before dawn. Through the 
semi-darkness are seen creeping stealthily out from the 
forest little live-oak trees hung with moss, which dance 
round them and hold lacy fingers to protect the sleeping 
children from the winds off the river. 

As the scene gradually lightens, the flowers : violets, 
Cherokee roses, yellow jessamine, trumpet-honeysuckle, 
and magnolias, play round them. 

With a burst of light — Dawn enters and kisses them. 

As Crescent Moon wakes they all vanish. 



27 



Characters. 
Louisiana 
Crescent Moon 

Falaya Indian playmate to Crescent Moon 

The Sieur de Bienville Governor of Louisiana Colony 

Hubert Director General 

^^^^^^™^^^' I Lieutenants of the Regent, Louis Philippe 

The Chevalier de la Tour Engineer 

The Sieur Pauget Assistant Engineer 

Le Page du Pratz 

Gentlemen, Artisans, Sailors, Indians. 



28 



Scene 2. 

Falaya : 
(Just awakened) 

Wake, Crescent Moon. I had a dream. 

Crescent Moon : 



A dream ! 



Falaya : 

! such a dream ! I saw the oak trees come 
And hold their mossy limbs to keep us warm. 
And then the flowers bloomed — Magnolias 
And violets and yellow jessamine — 
How sweet they were ! 

Crescent Moon : 

Ah ! how I love them all ! 

Falaya : 
I love the roses best. We have great vines 
With blooms as white as milk at Oumas, where 
Our wigwams are. The Cherokees in Spring 
Would make you dance with joy, Crescent Moon. 

Crescent Moon : 
But Cherokees have thorns! 

29 



Falaya : 

I dreamed again 
A sunbeam came and kissed us on the lips, 
It danced above our eyes and then bent down. 

Crescent Moon : 
0, would that I had seen it ! But I too 
Have had a dream. I saw great galleons come 
With gods in shining silk and glad array. 

Falaya : 
And did they come from France like that La Salle 
My father told us of? Each night I think 
To see him come again. Would he take you 
My Crescent Moon? You would not go to France? 

Crescent Moon : 
Nay, not to France. Let France come here to us ! 
You still could be my hand-maid and I, then, 
Would be a princess. Let us close our eyes 
And dream the gods are come. 

Falaya : 

Nay, Crescent Moon, 
The dawn is here. 

Crescent Moon : 
Not yet! The mockino: birds 
Have still not warbled to the rising sun. 

30 



( They fold their arms round each other and go hack 
to sleep. Enter the Sieur de Bienville, Hubert, Boisbriant, 
Chateaugue, Chevalier de la Tour, Sieur Pauget, Le Page 
du Pratz, with followers. ) 

Bienville : 
Louisiana, hail ! 

The Others : 

All hail to you ! 

Louisiana : 
Hail, Jean Baptiste le Moyne, and you, Hubert ! 
Right royally we greet you. Boisbriant 
And Chateaugue, lieutenants of the king. 
Bear you a message from His Majesty? 

Chateaugue : 
Louisiana, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, 
The Sieur de Bienville, and these chosen men 
Speak in the name of France. 

Louisiana : 
(To Bienville) 



Speak, then, that I 



May hear. 



Bienville : 

Louis Philippe due d'Orleans, 
The Regent for His Majesty, the small 
Young king, Louis le quinze, bids me to claim 

31 



In his name, witnessed by you, the land 
Once named Louisiane. Upon this stream, 
Near to its triple mouth, he bids me build 
A city passing fair. 



Louisiana : 

The dream once held 



By noble Iberville. 



Bienville : 

Yea, Iberville 
Our brother dreamed a dream. In this new France 
Upon these Mississippi shores, where now 
Palmetto wigwams sleep 'neath forest oaks. 
Where tangled vines grow dense and yucca blooms 
Mingle their fragrance with the moist dank earth. 
He dreamed to find a child whose slender hand 
Would plant the fleur-de-lys and make it bloom 
Into a City fair, surpassed by none 
Save France's own. 

Louisiana : 

And now. Messieurs, you come 
To change this dream to deeds? In truth, 'tis well ! 
England grows strong and threatens. Lordly Spain 
Would fain connect her high-roads from her forts 
Of Pensacola to great Mexico. 

32 



Sieur Pauget : 
Nay, fear you not ! To-day we claim our own : 
We dig our ditches and begin our roads. 
The Chevalier La Tour has brought his plans. 

La Tour : 
Ay, plans to make the new world wake ! and teach 
England how futile is her strength and Spain 
Her greed. With this great city, France shall reign 
Supreme. The English colonies shall shrink 
Within their narrow borders by the sea, 
And from Canadian snow to yon blue Gulf 
Great France shall rule. 

Louisiana : 

And you, Hubert, approve? 

Hubert : 
Our noble council has set seal thereon. 
The New France grows. Biloxi is made strong, 
Mobile is fortified, and now John Law 
The grant is given to furnish ways and means 
To build this colony o'er night. All France 
Is now aflame with news thereof. 

Le Page du Pratz : 

Hence I 
Am here. I beg the privilege, messieurs. 
To see the fleur-de-lys in bloom. Grant me 
A claim. 

33 



Bienville : 
'Tis well. 

(To La Tour) 

And now, La Tour, your map. 
Ah, yes, I see ! Here are Les Esplanades, 
And that black line, continuing this way. 
Canals to chain. There, le Place D'Armes, and close 
Beside, the Court and Church : and over there 
For you Hubert, the Intendance. I shall 
Build here upon this street, we'll name Royal 
In honor of His Majesty. And here, 
Because all cities must be gay at times 
And sing and dance and make mad revelry, 
We'll build our Opera House. And over there 
Le Cimitiere, like those of our own France, — 
Not that we mean to die, messieurs, but comes 
A time when death ends all. 

(While he is talking, Bienville notices the sleeping 
children. He hands the maps to La Tour, who takes them, 
pointing out to the others the various plans contemplated. 
Approaching the children, he touches Crescent Moon.) 

Bienville : 

Awake, my child. 

Falaya : 
(To Crescent Moon) 
See, Crescent Moon, the white-faced gods are come ! 

34 



Crescent Moon : 
(Looks long at Bienville, and then rises and puts her hand 

in his) 

You've come, monsieur, to bring New France to us? 

Bienville : 
Who are you, child? Whence come you? 

Crescent Moon : 

I am she 

You've come in quest of. I am Crescent Moon. 

Bienville : 
Louisiana, speak! What means this child 
Half moon, half flower, so like a wraith she seems? 

Louisiana : 

She is the dream of noble Iberville, 

Which you will bring to perfect womanhood. 

Meact Chasippi, whom the Indians call 

Our Father of Great Waters, brought her here. 

Like to a silver thread she lay so small, 

So fragile in his dripping arms, and so 

The Indians call her Crescent Moon. Her friends 

Are all the winds and waters. All the flowers 

Her playmates are. At dawn, this Indian child 

And she are singing with the mocking-birds. 

All nature loves this vision perfected. 

Bienville : 
And so, my child, you waited? Did you know 
That I would come? 

35 



Crescent Moon : 

Meact Chasippi said 
That you would find me, and then I should be 
A child o:f France. 

Bienville : 

In truth you shall ! Messieurs, 
See, what is here ! This little Crescent Moon 
New France has given birth to, we shall claim. 
And in all honor to His Majesty, 
Louis Philippe, le Dauphin, she shall be 
La Nouvelle Orleans. Messieurs, salute! 
With one accord salute the new-found child ! 

(They gather around her in surprise and rejoicing.) 

Bienville : 
Vive le Dauphin ! La Nouvelle Orleans ! 

(He puts a little French flag in her hand. She standi 
waving it, Louisiana on one side of her and Falaya on the 
other. ) 

Bienville : 
Shout with loud voices. Shout, that wind and wave, 
That forest trees and flowers and song-birds, hear ! 
Shout, that your voices reach the shores of France, 
The Crescent Maid ! La Nouvelle Orleans ! 

All together — 
(holding their swords aloft and ivaving flags) : 

The Crescent maid ! La Nouvelle Orleans ! 
(Curtain.) 

36 



ACT IV. 
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 



37 



Characters. 
America 
Louisiana 
La Nouvelle Orleans 

De Laussat Colonial Prefect of France 

James Wilkinson Brigadier General U. S. Army 

Wm. C. C. Claiborne .... First American Governor of La. 

Charpain Guard of Honor to French flag 

Dusseuil Who lowers the French flag 

LeGrand Who receives the lowered flag 

Pontalba j 

Poire Citizens 

Mane ( 

A child ) 

American Troops, French Militia, Frenchmen, Spaniards, 

Americans, Negroes, Indians, gaily dressed 

women and children. 



38 



Scene. 
La Nouvelle Orleans. 

(Place d^Armes; an open square with shade trees 
extending to the river, left, on which are seen gaily deco- 
rated boats. 

On the right, the Hotel de Ville tuith overhanging bal- 
conies, and near by, the St. Louis Cathedral. 

In the rear are buildings ivith balconies of wrought 
iron grille ivork, behind which sit handsomely dressed men 
and tuomen. 

In the immediate foreground is a flag pole, and wav- 
ing in the breeze is seen the French flag. At its foot, as a 
guard of honor, stand French soldiers and citizens. 

The Place d^Armes is crowded, as if awaiting a fes- 
tive occasion. Here are seen Frenchmen, Spaniards, 
Americans, Indian women, dressed in modern indigo blue 
prints, with tired faces, carrying large baskets of dried 
leaves and roots. They sit in groups unmindful of the 
passing throng. Negro mammies pilot small children 
handsomely dressed in muslin and ribbons, their long 
black curls hanging beneath their French caps. Boys and 
girls are plo.ying, and as the curtain rises are heard the 
martial strains of La Marseillaise. 

As the music dies away, two citizens are discovered 
talking. They wave their hats and cheer. ) 

Mons. Pontalba : 
La Republique, Vive! Vive la Republique! 

Poire : 
Ma foi, monsieur Pontalba, think on it! 
But yesterday, and we belonged to France ! 

39 



Pontalba : 
And then to Spain ! Umph ! how we hated it, 
Ceded to Spain as if we had no rights. 

Poire : 
And now, worst of all, just as our hopes 
Were stirred that France still needed us and claimed 
Her own — monies Monsieur de Laussat and tells 
This monstrous tale : France sells us like a toy ! 

Pontalba : 
Be not too quick to judge, Monsieur Poire, 
Old heads are wisest, eh mon fils? Suppose 
We try it once ; America is strong. 
We grow too great for France to govern well. 
As one with these United States we make 
A foe all England cannot conquer. So, 
Who knows biit that Napoleon thought thereon. 
Ah ! there comes Madame Marigny ! and with her 
Like to a morn in May, la belle Marie. 
ho ! Monsieur ! Two things to make the heart 
Beat when a man is young. His flag and then 
His sweetheart. Au revoir. Monsieur. 

Poire : 
( To Madame Marigny, kissing her hand) 

Madame ! 
40 



(To Marie) 
Marie, the day dawns when I see your face! 
You'll dance with me to-night, the Minuet? 

Marie : 
Mais, oui, Maurice, if Maman gives consent. 

Poire : 
The ball, 'tis said, will rival that great feast 
DeLaussat gave. 

Marie : 
0, did you hear, Maurice, 
The Marquis Casa Calvo led that dance 
With Madame Almonaster, and 'twas said 
A queen she looked with jewels in her hair. 

Poire : 
Petite, I love your hair best soft and low 
And my camellia nestling in the curls. 
I'll send you one to-night, ma bien Aimee. 

(He kisses her hand and moves away. The herald^ s 
bugle is heard, followed by the strains of La Marseillaise 
again. A child^s voice in the crowd calls. ) 

Child : 

Voici les soldats! Look, Gaston, they come! 

(Enter Louisiana with proud, queenly bearing. She 
holds by the hand, La Nouvelle Orleans, also proud and 
dignified, but a little halting as if walking with reluctance. 

41 



Behind them comes the French Militia. They range 
themselves on one side of the Place d'Armes, Louisiana 
and La Nouvelle Orleans in the centre. 

Suddenly a cannon shot is heard. The air is rent ivith 
cheering interspersed with Vivats. 

Then a pause ivhile a salute of twenty-one guns an- 
nounces the arrival of the American troops. 

The music changes to Columbia, and amidst renewed 
cheering, America enters in great dignity and beauty. 

Following closely on horseback are the Commission- 
ers, General Wilkinson and Governor Claiborne, followed 
by dragoons in red uniforms, artillery and infantry. Gen- 
eral Wilkinson and Governor Claiborne dismount at the 
Hotel de Ville and are escorted with great ceremony to 
the Assembly Hall. 

The troops form themselves in line on the opposite 
side of the Place d'Armes, America standing in the centre 
close to Louisiana and La Nouvelle Orleans. 

As the music dies away, America speaks.) 



America : 
Louisiana, hail ! 

Louisiana : 

All hail to you, 
America. 

America : 

And you, my youngest child 
La Nouvelle Orleans. This day brings joy. 

42 



{To Louisiana) 
Louisiana, we have waited long, 

Have hoped and dreamed that some day you would stand 
And take your place beside us. In our strength 
Lies yours, and this dear dreamy child's, begot 
Of France. 

Louisiana : 
Am^erica, to-day we stand 
Between the old life and the new with hearts 
For both. France made us what v/e are and what 
We shall be. We should fail, indeed, if we 
At this great moment closed our eyes and hearts 
To Calais and to Fontenoy. But know, 
The blood that strengthened arm and nerve for France, 
Makes noble sinew for a new land's cause. 

America : 

Right bravely have you spoken ! 

i 
(To Nouvelle Orleans) 

You, my child, 
Embrace you thus our cause? 

La Nouvelle Orleans : 

America, 
I come with pride and strength, but still with fear ; 
A child of France am L My heart is gay, 
I love the light and laughter, and my feet 
Keep step to rhythmic music. 

43 



America : 

Then in truth 
You'll teach us well the joy of life. 

La Nouvelle Orleans : 

Again, 
My faith is not as yours. My heart seeks rest 
Within our sanctuaries, where is peace. 
I love those quiet aisles where cloistered nuns 
With whitened fingers count their rosaries. 
I love the perfumed incense and the lights 
Cast by the waxen candles. There my soul 
Spreads out its wings towards the Infinite. 

America : 

My child, fear not! Your mocking-birds at dawn 
Sing many songs. Think you to ask which key 
Is sweetest to their singing? So with faith ! 

La Nouvelle Orleans: 

Our nuns, then, need not go? The Ursulines? 

'Twas said you'd close our convents, send them forth. 

America : 

America was born that all might sing ^ 

Their faiths upon the keys that suit them best. 

44 



Louisiana : 
Be of good cheer, sweet Nouvelle Orleans, 
America has need of us and we 
Of her. We'll teach her joy. Give her our land 
Of Spring, of sunshine, and of blooming flowers. 
Of children's laughter and of singing birds. 
But greater than our deep blue skies, our air 
Of sensuous perfume, or our starry nights. 
We give our Mississippi, on whose breast 
Float down a thousand barges. Without that, 
Her soul would stagnate. So right royally, 
As those of royal worth, we give ourselves. 

America : 
Well said, Louisiana ; for in truth 
You bring us lungs and heart, new breath, new blood ; 
Without your river with its triple mouth 
Our strength would languish, and we needs must die. 

{The Herald's trumpet is heard from the Hotel de 
Ville, on the central balcony of which appear DeLaussat, 
General Wilkinson, and Governor Claiborne. Amidst re- 
newed cheering DeLaussat speaks.) 

DeLaussat : 
With greetings come I in the name of France 
To you, good citizens of France no more. 
I, Peter de Laussat, proclaim to all 
That I have read the treaty ceding you, 

45 



Your rivers, harbors, lands, possessions all. 
To that large portion of the Western world 
We call America. The City's keys. 
The symbol of your strength, are handed him 
Who now becomes your Governor. Salute 
Him, Citizens ! 

Voices in the Croivd: 
Vive ! Vive ! Claiborne ! Vive ! Vive ! 

Governor Claiborne : 

Once, years ago. La Salle stood near this spot 

And raised that flag which now you watch descend. 

Good citizens, we should not feel the trust 

In this allegiance that you pledge to-day. 

Did you not look with tear-dimmed eyes and think 

On your past glories underneath that flag. 

But dwell not on the past. Look up ! Beyond ! 

See, floating in the breeze the Stars and Stripes ! 

The symbol of new life, new love, new hope, 

New faith, new courage, and unconquered strength ! 

America awaits you. Cleave to her ! 

And with her you shall stand against the world. 



{He takes his seat amidst enthusiastic cheering. 
Louisiana turns to Captain Charpain, who waits by the 
flagpole with bowed head.) 

46 



Louisiana : 

Monsieur Charpain and you, French citizens, 

Have kept a sacred vigil since the morn. 

The noon hour strikes. Ensign Dusseuil, we wait! 

{Slowly and sadly the first few bars of La Marseil- 
laise are played. The tricolored flag descends as the Stars 
and Stripes are raised. They meet for one breathless mo- 
ment, while a cannon shot is heard. 

The French flag is received into the arms of Major 
Le Grand, ivho stands ivith draiun sword, and, reverently 
winds the ff,ag ronnd his body. 

Columbia is played by the Military band as the Stars 
and Stripes float in the breeze. 

America holds out her arms to Louisiana who tvith 
La Nouvelle Orleans advances toivards her.) 

(Curtain.) 



47 



PART 11. 

ACT V. 

THE FESTIVAL OF PROSPERITY AND PEACE. 



49 



Prologue. 

{A trumpet is heard. Curtains are slightly drawn. 
Enter Herald. ) 

Herald : 
With joyous greetings meet we once again 
To pay our tribute to our gracious Queen. 
As friends we come, who've stood the test of years, 
Have seen and known and loved her matchless worth. 
Together we have walked as those who watch 
By side of one beloved and who know 
That age means purpose and unbounded faith. 
That years mean knowledge and unbounded love. 
More than two cycles have unrolled since once 
With bended knee we did her reverence. 
Morns have arisen with their rosy tints 
And painted fields of Indian wheat and maize. 
And suns have set on lands that knew them not. 
Together we have watched upon these shores 
The birch canoes depart and come instead 
Strange ships, the symbols of a conquering race. 
New men with purpose strong and fixed intent 
Have come and gone and left their impress deep. 
Together we have watched the fleur-de-lys 
Put forth the beauty of its wondrous bloom, — 

51 



Nay more, together, we have watched them stand, 

Louisiana in her pride of power 

With Crescent Moon, sweet child of joyous France, — 

High in their places in the great New World. 

And now, sweet friends, with beating, breaking hearts 

We speak of that we dare not let unroll 

Lest sorrow touch us in the hour of joy, 

How men upon the bloody battle-plain 

Yielded their lives for nobleness of cause. 

For righteous freedom of the hearth and home. 

For sacred principle inviolate. 

A time majestic in its holy grief. 

Titanic in endeavor and resolve, 

Unconquered, even if conquered, in its strength. 

Of Sumter fallen and illusive hope. 

Of Bull Run's far resounding victory, 

Of Fort St. Philip and our own despair, — 

New Orleans, down-trodden, but unbowed 

To any tyrant's yoke, for righteousness 

Of cause lifts up its head to meet the stars — 

Of Appomattox, how dare speak of them? 

The rest is silence. Bitterness is gone. 

Hope in our hearts once overtwined despair 

As ivy overtwines a lonely grave ; 

Yet, ivy covers with its rich green leaf. 

As Nature hiding scars of time and pain ; 

So, too, Louisiana's deathless strength 

52 



Has covered, clad, and builded her anew. 
Her fields are nodding with their amber grain, 
Her cotton white as sea-foam blooms afresh. 
Tall, dense, and dark the cane and plumaged corn 
Vie with each other in their lovers' zeal. 
And fruits bend down the trees that lift them high. 
To-night we have prepared a joyous feast 
That all her children do her reverence. 
The bees assiduous and the butterflies, 
With birds that wake the morning with their song. 
Shall join the pageant of our gracious Queen ; 
Prosperity shall come and gentle Peace, 
Angelic Peace, who holds within her hands 
The hopes and dreams that fill the souls of men. 
Make ready, friends. We bid you one and all 
Bring near your gifts. Louisiana waits ! 



53 



Scene. 

(Curtains are drawn showing Louisiana enthroned, 
New Orleans standing beside her. 

Background as in Act I. 

Herald steps back and takes his stand beside Louisi- 
ana. Music is heard — and enter from opposite sides of the 
stage Prosperity and Peace. Prosperity carries a golden 
horn of plenty and Peace a long slender palm leaf. Behind 
them come little broivn bumble-bees and gorgeous butter- 
flies of various hues. Birds : Pelicans and Sea-gulls, snotvy 
Herons and Aigrettes, Mocking birds, Woodpeckers, and 
little brown Thrushes, flock behind. Folloiving closely are 
the floivers: Yellow Jessamine, Trumpet-Honeysuckle, 
Magnolias, wild Roses, Azaleas, and Arbutus. Then come 
little maidens carrying garlands of roses and clover, fol- 
loived by taller ones with baskets of oleander arid crepe- 
myrtle. 

Others follow with long stalks of sugar cane and corn 
and sheaves of rice. 

Others with round baskets, held upon their shoulders, 
heaped high with snowy cotton. 

Following these come young matrons with platters 
of glistening crystal salt. 

Others bearing trays of luscious fruit. 

The women are all dressed in classical costumes and 
walk with dignity and seriousness. As they group them- 
selves on either side of the stage, the music stops and the 
Herald^s trumpet is heard. 



55 



ACT VI. 

THE CALL TO ARMS. 

APRIL, 1917. 



57 



Characters. 
America 
Louisiana 
New Orleans 
Prosperity 
Peace 
Chorus of Mothers 

United States troops. Voices from the Dead. 
All that have appeared before. 



58 



Scene — The same. 

(A noise is heard without, hi great grief enters 
America. ) 

America : 
Help ! Help ! Louisiana, hearken well ! 
Heed you, my daughter, while this monstrous tale 
I now relate that you may tell to all 
The sons and daughters of the South-land wide: 
Belgium is ravished and her stricken land 
A place of howling wolves that gnaw and tear ; 
Her cities burned, her palaces destroyed, 
Her sanctuaries razed, and flung to shame 
Her noble wives and daughters. See them lie 
In woeful heaps beneath the rising moon ! 
No moon-flower ever bloomed so sweet, so fair, 
As those white bodies sanctified of death. 

Louisiana : 
And no one has there dared to lift the sword 
In their defense? 

America : 

Yea, England has. She gave 
The noblest men that ever wielded sword. 
Those splendid sons, who marched unto their doom 
With sunshine in their eyes, and asked for naught 
But that the Right should triumph over Might. 

59 



New Orleans : 

And England's other sons in far-off lands, 
India, whose magic beauty charms the soul, 
Australia, strong and sturdy as an oak. 
And that young child she cradled on her breast 
And now is yours, America? Calls not 
Your Canada across the sea to her? 

America : 
Yea, all are pledged to meet the common foe. 

Louisiana : 

And that young giant by the polar star. 
Who cast aside her shackles over night 
And leaped new-born to freedom and to fame, 
Will she not rise and smite? 

America : 

Yea, in her wrath, 
For well sh^ knows Autocracy and false 
And broken promises of kings. But she 
Is still a fledgling. Knows not yet how strong 
Her pinions. Give her time and strength to soar ! 

New Orleans : 
And France, our mother France, has she done naught? 

60 



America : 
For France hath Belgium met midway the foe. 
Think you that France the gallant could behold 
The Belgian Calvary nor draw her blade? 
Yea, she has fought, is fighting unto death. 
Her fields are trodden by the ruthless Hun, 
Her towns and cities ash-heaps, Rheims a dream. 
Her brave lads lying on the frozen sod 
Like shed leaves shattered by the Autumn blast. 
But not her heart ! Her heart in dory sings ! 
For well she's learned through travail of her soul 
That only Right can triumph. Love can win. 

New Orleans : 

But we shall help her! Surely we shall smite! 
Our blood is hers, her dreams and visions ours. 

America : 
My dark-eyed daughter by the sapphire Gulf, 
Brave France shall hear the pleadings of your heart. 
But not for France alone we raise our arms. 
Nay, not for Belgium, nor for England's pain. 
Nor still for Russia in her new-birth pangs, 
Nor even for ourselves, whom danger threats. 
Hear you yet more ! 

New Orleans : 

Yet is there more to hear? 

61 



America : 

The Lusitania lies beneath the sea ; 

Her men and women murdered, and her babes 

Hold whitened lips against more whitened breasts. 

Louisiana : 

And shall we not avenge them — we who hold 
The torch of liberty to light the world? 

America : 

My children all shall bear that sacred torch 
Into the fetid blackness of the pit. 

Prosperity : 

And what of me? I shrink before your torch ; 
My golden grain is brighter than your fire ; 
I dread its burning glow. scorch me not ! 

Peace : 

And me, America? I am thy child, 

My heart is beating as a frightened bird's. 

Would'st clip my wings and put me in a cage? 

America : 

Nay, gentle Peace. Creep close beside my torch, 
For where its light is, there be no dipt wings. 
No cruel cages to shut in the soul ! 

62 



Prosperity, for shame to flaunt your fears. 
Would sell yourself to feed the beast of greed? 
While thus you prate, the Vulture presses deep 
His clutching talons into Freedom's breast. 

America : 

(To Herald) 
Blow you your bugle. Blow to wake the dead. 
The noble dead who died in Freedom's cause ! 

Louisiana : 
Yea. Wake them all, that those who sleep may see 
Their sheathed swords flash forth to victory. 

(Herald blows. Enter solemnly and slowly to soft 
music all that have appeared before.) 

Indian : 
We who lost freedom know best how to die. 
Our bows are strung, our arrows tipt with death. 

An Old French Settler : 
Life is so short, but honor spreads her wings 
Through the far halls of vast eternity. 
give me one short life to give again ! 

Another French Settler : 
You have awaked us. Let us tarry not. 
Haste, haste, France needs us ! France, we come, we come ! 

63 



(Commotion without. Music. Voices are heard. En- 
ter Procession of Mothers. 

They are dressed in white like the MadonTias of 
Gabriel Max, with hoods and soft flowing robes belted in 
at the waist with white cords. They walk in with arms 
outstretched and heads held triumphantly. ) 

A Mother: 
Nay, ours be now the day. Their day be done ! 
No man can twice give life for freedom's cause. 
Our sons take up the swords their sires ensheathed, 
Our precious lads who were not born in vain. 
All these have tilled the soil, but we shall reap. 
They struck the flint, but we shall bear the fire, 
Democracy, the torch that lights the world. 

Another Mother : 
Louisiana, take my splendid son 
He is so young, so strong, so brave ! 



Another Mother : 



And mine ! 



My little Pierre is grown to be a man. 
How fast time flies ! 'Twas only yesterday 
I buckled on his grandsire's sword in jest. 
To-day that sword shall pierce the Vulture's heart. 

Another Mother : 
And mine ! My boy, my only lad ! He was 
So tiny when his father died. I taught 

64 



Him how to climb the tallest tree and peep 
Into the nest to count the fledglings, watch 
Them try their wings — but not to touch ! Raoul 
Would die for freedom. Let him march beneath 
Your torch, America, that he may see 
Democracy enkindle all the world! 

Louisiana : 
(To Herald) 
Call in those splendid youths. All, all shall go ! 

(To Mothers) 
A new dawn rises on the troubled earth, 
For now our day-star pierces through the gloom, 
The star of freedom borne by these on high. 
And you, brave mothers, that once open flung 
The gates of death that you might give them life. 
Read you the meaning of the star, and know 
How great a thing it is to save the world ! 

(Herald blows) 

{Star-Spangled Banner is heard. 

Enter soldiers with raised swords and guns, preceded 
by flag bearer. 

The flag is handed to America, who stands on one side 
of Louisiana, Neiv Orleans on the other. 

The others group themselves around.) 
{Curtain.) 
65 



Treatment Date. -j^gg 

i ^ '™""pS i sERVATION IbOHUULUUlL S, LP. 
111 Thomson Park Dnve 



